Restaurants of the Road

We left Chicago
heading east, and spent the night near the Indiana Dunes on the southern
end of Lake Michigan. In the morning, the balmy weather encouraged us
to hug the shore, walk on the sand, and meander into Michigan.

It's a good
thing we did, because it's the only way we would have found our way to
Oink's Dutch Treat, a one-of-a-kind ice cream emporium in New Buffalo.

Actually,
you can't miss Oink's. It's on the main drag in New Buffalo, right across
the street from the post office. The building features lots of hot pink
paint, and porcine images abound. And that name. We couldn't resist.

We
were lucky to have arrived early enough to park in Oink's lot, which has
reserved parking for Miss Piggy, among other similar personages. The fences
surrounding the lot form a backdrop for a remarkable collection of pig
and ice cream-related signs. We parked on Hog Heaven Road.

Inside, Oink's
offers not only a feast for the belly- dozens of flavors or ice cream
and frozen yogurt- but also a feast for the eyes. The ceiling is studded
with hundreds of ice cream scoops, and shelves house a magnificent accumulation
of milk shake blenders, ice cream freezers, and- you guessed it- pigs.

And there's
history here, too. Oink's used to be a diner called "Carl's Hut,"
and the vintage menus have been carefully preserved under glass.

Roger
Vink

Oink's is
the creation of Roger Vink, who told us that everybody laughed when he
opened his doors thirteen years ago. "They don't laugh any more,"
he said.

Oink's is
so popular that Roger often has to have ten people working the counter.
Roger also maintains a classic car collection whose most recent addition
is a vintage Bentley. "Its license plate will be 'Sir Oink,'"
said Roger.

Before we
left, we visited Oink's gift shop, which features a large selection of
candy and- you guessed it again- pigs. We were still licking our "single"
ice cream cones, which were so big we can honestly say, "We pigged
out at Oink's!"